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Page last updated at 22:18 GMT, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 23:18 UK

The Texan holds 'em up
Sir Allen Stanford at Lord's for the 20/20 for 20 launch
When the man who finds Test cricket "boring" landed his helicopter slap-bang in the middle of Lord's Nursery Ground in June, he was welcomed with open arms by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Along with $20m in cash, Sir Allen romanced the purists with his vision of how cricket could become the biggest team sport in the world.

"This will expose the sport to a whole different market that has never seen cricket, nor would they be interested to see the game via a Test match series," he said.

The Texan knows a thing or two about expanding markets - he made his fortune in real estate in the 1980s before becoming a resident of Antigua 10 years ago.

He has since bankrolled the Stanford 20/20 tournament in the West Indies - and now has his eye on an even bigger prize, as well as restoring West Indies cricket to its all-conquering best.



see also
Stanford Super Series fixtures
20 Sep 08 |  England
Stanford game is given go-ahead
09 Oct 08 |  Cricket

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